Joy of Country Living

Summer is here! At any rate the temperature sure feels like it. David and I went picking blackberries early this morning. Found a HUGE bush growing around one of the trees on the far hill. It is loaded with berries as big as the end of my thumb. Only takes a few minutes to fill up a half gallon bag – that’s my kind of picking. Of course have to be careful of snakes – so my berry picking attire consists of boots, long pants, gloves and a large hoe.

When we got back to the house, did some work around the yard. Specifically, pruning the Juniper bushes. They are so pretty and smell so good but trying to keep them manageable while at the same time keep their free form shape is not an easy chore. We did a little more work on them when we got back from berry picking. In fact as far as I’m concerned – we’re finished with those babies! We had good intentions to get them trimmed much earlier in the year – but it just didn’t happen. They are quite prickly and my arms are covered in a red rash right now – but at least it’s not poison ivy. 

Been pretty busy with doing some computer work for clients last few days – so haven’t had a chance to make my slip covers. The material has migrated to the guest room – not a good sign. But, I have good intentions to get them sewn up this weekend. (If all goes as planned.) They’ll really dress up those old deck chairs.

  Spent a little time outside after lunch – just enjoying the plants, breeze and quiet. For the first year since we’ve been here, the caladium bulbs – along with the other bulbs I planted have survived the moles. My wire basket theory worked!

The daylilies are in full bloom – always a favorite; as are the hydrangeas. Last year I didn’t think the blossoms could be any larger – but they are huge again.     I’m keeping an eye on the plum and peach trees . . . know I can’t save all the fruit from the birds (1 particularly pesky woodpecker loves plums) – but I’m going to give it my best shot. May have to pick a few of them before they are totally ripe – but that’s OK too.

Had a really nice visit over the weekend with Joe and Nancy (cousins). Good fun, conversation and lots of laughs. Fixed steaks with twice baked potatoes. I don’t fix twice baked potatoes very often – no reason why – just don’t. But Nancy asked for the recipe so I’ll post it here for anyone else that might be interested.     It’s very basic and the amounts of added ingredients can be adjusted to individual taste. You may not like as much butter as we do.

Started out by ‘baking’ my potatoes in the microwave. I’ve found that by baking them in the microwave on 50% power for 10-15 minutes they come out fine. I drizzle them with a little olive oil and salt, loosely cover with plastic wrap and then cook. And, don’t forget to prick them in a couple of places before you nuke them.   

Once they are done, cut them in half length ways, carefully scoop out the inside and put that into a large bowl. Set the skins aside. You can add any or all of the following ingredients:

(For 2 baked potatoes, cut in-half, serves 4)

• 1 Tablespoon fresh, finely chopped onion
• 2 Strips crispy bacon, crumbled
• 1 Tablespoon fresh garlic chives (regular chives or green onion tops can be substituted)
• 1/4 Cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/3 Cup Parkay Squeeze Butter
• 2-3 Tablespoons Butter
• Salt & Pepper to Taste
• (Sour cream is optional, if you like it – add about 1/4 Cup)

Mash the potatoes and ingredients together until smooth.   Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into each of the saved potato shells.

Place filled shells into a oven-proof dish, sprinkle a little extra cheese on top and bake for 5-10 minutes at 400 degrees (until cheese is melted and potato is hot).

Optional baking method: Place dish with filled potato skins in the microwave and cook for 5 minutes at 50% power or until cheese is melted.

These can be made ahead and warmed just before serving.

Things have really been busy around the hay field. Seems we’ve been doing a lot of running – went shopping in Bryan (bought some fabric to make slip covers for the lawn chairs) and then to Houston to visit my son and his lovely bride. Getting away is always fun but seems chores always double up on getting back home.

There’s the yard to mow, garden to weed, blackberries to pick plus the usual everyday stuff. We had a huge rain Monday night and my garden is going to need some refurbishing. With 3 inches of rain coming down in less than an hour – there are numerous mole tunnels that were exposed and will need to be filled in.   Fortunately, I only lost a couple of bean bushes to the cave-ins. Could have been a lot worse.

Somewhere in all the stuff we have around here, David found a couple of rectangle-shaped wooden frames about 3′ x 4′ and 8″ tall. Think I’m going to turn them into an herb garden. There’s some room next to the deck kitchen (it’s a mess right now) and I think that would be a good place. I’ll get started on that this weekend. I’ve got to dig out all the Bahia grass, level the area and see how I can work around the existing hydrangea plant. Went out to take a picture to show you how bad it looks and the air was full of Jasmine. The Star Jasmine by the walk is blooming and the whole backyard smells wonderful.

If I end up working in the yard as planned, bet I’ll be pulling out and heating up some of those frozen dinners I’ve stashed. May even make and freeze some breakfast burritos tomorrow so I can get an earlier start Saturday without having to cook breakfast.

Luckily, David loves sandwiches and wrap-ups. The breakfast burritos I make are usually made with leftovers – sausage, bell pepper bits and potato pieces. They’re quick to make, and if you’re so inclined they freeze and reheat well. I’ve not ever made a really large batch of them but they’re just like the ones you buy at the store – only without all the added salt, fat and preservatives. 

If you think your significant other would like them, here’s how I make them with leftovers that might other wise go begging.

What you’ll need to make 2 wraps (just double, triple, etc. the recipe for more burittos).   And, use the leftovers in the amount you have. I’ve given amounts as a ‘go-by’, but the recipe is certainly not written in stone.

• 1 Egg (beaten)
• 1/4 Medium sized potato cut into small bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tablespoon finely chopped onion
• 2 Teaspoons finely chopped bell pepper
• Cooked meat of choice cut into small bite-sized pieces (sausage is our favorite but bacon or ham works well)
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 2 Flour tortillas
• Salt, Pepper to taste

In a small skillet, melt the butter. Then add in the potato, onions, and bell pepper. Saute over medium heat until veggies are slightly soft and potatoes are a little browned.  To the veggie mix add the meat and stir around until mixed in. To this add the 1 beaten egg and seasonings. Scramble until the egg is done, remove from heat and set aside.

I like to spritz the tortillas first with some no-calorie spray butter . . .  then in the middle of each tortilla place 1/2 of the egg scramble mixture.  Fold the 2 edges over to the center. Place the burritos on a micro-wave safe plate, cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 25 seconds at 50-60% power. You may need to adjust the time to fit your microwave. You want to warm them just enough to make the tortillas soft – you don’t want to nuke them long enough so that the tortilla gets hard. Serve immediately with some taco sauce – or not.

If you plan on freezing them for later use, skip the microwave part. Once you have the egg mixture in the tortilla, wrap each buritto individually in plastic wrap, place in a zip-freezer bag and freeze. Warm them up on 50% power for about a minute (each). Again, you’ll may need to adjust time and temp for your oven.

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Things have been extraordinarily busy around here. Spent Saturday working in the yard and garden – perfect weather. I’ve got all my vegetable plants set out and David had some old coffee cans stashed in the red barn so we cut the bottoms out and pressed them into the dirt around the plants mole barriers. Luckily so far the moles have only gotten two of my black-eyed pea plants and those were not ‘protected’. I’m hoping if the moles run into the sides of the can – they’ll detour right out of the garden.

While I was out in the garden on Saturday, David finished up on the extension of the bedroom closet taking in the unused length of the bathroom along the same wall (they had an adjoining door) . . . in effect doubling my closet space. How wonderful! For the first time I feel like I’ve got enough closet space for everything!! He even went so far as to build in shelving over the clothes poles so we can store ‘stuff’. Haven’t decided what kink of stuff we’ll put in there but I’m sure we’ll find something.  

For Mother’s Day we went to Crockett for a double celebration – Mother’s Day and my Aunt Rose’s 102nd birthday – it was quite the celebration.  [ While there I couldn't resist taking some pictures of  these pretty flowers blooming in Nancy's yard.   ]    Everyone was there – and per ususal there was lots of good food to be eaten. Nancy fixed her special chicken and dressing along with a delicious ham and all the trimmings. Of course, there were lots of desserts to choose from – pineapple upside down cake (best I’ve ever eaten), cheesecake, apricot salad, and chocolate covered strawberries. Everyone had a really good time – and as I’ve said before, spending time with Aunt Rose is always a treat.

Started the week off picking berries Monday morning – dew berries or black berries – never sure which it is. There are lots of them this year and we will enjoy them. Forgot to mention, spent part of Saturday making some fried pies. Have you noticed that the things you remember as a child are never quite the same as an adult.

Such was David’s memory of dried apricots. Saw them at the grocery store and remembered loving them as a child – so we bought some. But wait… guess what? They’re not the same! So, what do you do with 2 pounds of dried apricots. (Yes, men always have to have the biggest bag available ) For a month I shuffled  that bag of apricots around in the fridge, until I had a bit of a brainstorm Saturday. I had bought a couple of pears at the store and thought that apricots and pears sounded pretty good together. So I whipped up a fruit concoction of apricots, pears and raisins – stuffed the filling into some pie dough and fried them up. They were delicious – in fact I think they are my favorite fried pie ever. I made them sugar free so didn’t mind having David eat one with a little ice cream. If you do not have any apricots around, these fried pies make it worth buying a bag (small one ladies) just to try this recipe.

What you’ll need:

• 1 cup dried apricots
• 1 medium size pear (peeled, cored and sliced)
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Splenda
• 1/4-1/3 cup water
• 1 recipe of pie dough (makes 4 fried pies)

Put the first 6 ingredients in a small sauce pan and cook over a low heat stirring occasionally. Add a little extra water as needed to keep the fruit from sticking and burning. Cook until the dried apricots and pears are soft.   You do not want to have any excess water.  Remove from heat and cool.

Roll out the pie dough (I like using Pillsbury pie dough-no added work) and cut into 4 sections. Place one-fourth of the fruit mixture on each piece of dough, fold and crimp the edges with a fork dipped in water. Fry the pies in pre-heated oil (medium heat) until golden brown.

When done, carefully remove the pies and place on paper towels to drain. That’s it. If you can have sugar, use regular sugar in the recipe – I think it always makes things taste better.

For those of us that no longer have our moms around – Mother’s Day is a bitter-sweet time. Most of us have families, spouses and of course, our children that make the day special – however, it sometimes seems there’s nothing  more empty than a Mother’s Day without ‘Mom’.

I was blessed to have the best Mom ever. Mother - who I affectionately called Charlie – was a lady in every sense of the word.  She  always with a kind, encouraging word – not just for me but for everyone who knew her. She raised me to be self-sufficient – when women having a ‘career to fall back on’ wasn’t the norm. She taught me how to cook and to love flowers, how to be thrifty, save for tomorrow and plan for the future. She taught me to enjoy and make the most of every day because she said you never knew what tomorrow might bring.    She instilled a deep sense of faith in me that has taken me through many tough times and last but not least – she taught me that regardless of the situation there’s always hope because . . . “this too shall pass” . . . and tomorrow will bring a new day

There isn’t enough room here for me to tell you all the wonderful things  about my Mom and her unconditional love for me . . . the  never ending love she had for my Dad,  the beautiful poetry she wrote and the never-wavering dedication she had for her family….if you’re lucky enough to be able to share this coming Mother’s Day with your mom – enjoy and savor every moment  because “this too shall pass”.

Happy Mother’s Day…..  and here’s one of my favorite songs – a tribute to anyone that inspires you. . . .

Busy week last week. Did manage to get quite a few chores finished…

1. Painted the walkway next to the deck with a faux brick pattern.  Did this using a cement form (brick shaped)  and a couple of cans of outdoor paint.  Painted the wood a ‘grouty’ color and then turned the form upside-down and lightly spray painted the bricks.  Moved the form over to finish the row and then just continued down the walk until the whole thing was painted with faux bricks.  Looks really nice and gave that side of the deck some much needed color. 

2. Helped David paint the ‘red’ barn… (and boy is it red!!)  

3. Planted the remainder of my bulbs… (planted them inside of the wire baskets so we’ll see if that keeps the moles from eating them up).

4. Planted the rest of the packaged flower seeds.

5. Weeded the flower beds (managed to escape the poison ivy…this time).

6. Planted the green beans, black-eyed peas, cilantro and bell pepper seeds.

7. Washed the deck kitchen counters off… (major chore getting all that yellow pollen off the white grout).

8. Trimmed the cedar trees in the front yard.

9. Cleaned out my paint room….(we tend to use it as a catch-all during the winter).

Really enjoyed the time outside – but it’s back to work this week. I’ve lots to catch up on and need to go grocery shopping…again. It’s amazing how much 2 people can eat.

Don’t forget to check out the coupon links on the Coupon Page - read where inflation was up 2% (sure seems like more) and bet it’ll continue to climb.

I know fresh veggies have gone out of site at the grocery stores around here. Think this will be the first year I try my hand at a winter garden. Right now I’m planting twice as much as I’ve planted in the past so I can have some extras to freeze for winter.